Ergonomic pistol grip for rifles

ABSTRACT

An angled pistol grip for use in a semiautomatic weapon. Said pistol grip oriented asymmetrically from the centerline of the rifle body thereby reducing the stress on the shooter&#39;s wrist of the hand holding said pistol grip while firing. Thus allowing the shooter to correctly position the weapon, relative to the shooter&#39;s body, for accurate aiming.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of provisional application Ser. No.61/336,258 filed Jan. 19, 2010.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

The present invention relates to a ergonomically designed pistol gripthat may be used on the AR-150 made by Colt Industries, the numerousAR-15 clones presently sold and other models of semi-automatic and fullyautomatic rifles.

2. Description of Related Art

Rifles using a pistol grip have been traditionally designed with thegrip features, such as the finger groves of the grip symmetricallyaligned with the body of the rifle.

Pistol grips are often used on semi and full automatic weapons because,among other reasons, the rifle stock is adjustable. On a shortenedstock, control of the rifle is managed by gripping the pistol type gripwith the hand that pulls the trigger. The pistol grip configuration alsoallows control of the rifle when the rifle is fired from a positionwhere the stock is not abutting the user's shoulder. For example, whenthe weapon is fired from the hip.

BACKGROUND—OBJECTS AND ADVANTAGES

Accordingly several objects and advantages of the present invention are:allowing the user to reduce the angle of their hand relative to theforearm when aiming and/or firing the rifle. Using the standard pistolgrip configuration, the acute angle (approx. 40 degrees forearm to hand)for proper rifle handling and aiming puts an undue strain and fatigue onthe wrist, hand and forearm. Carpal tunnel occurs when there isinordinate and repetitive stress on the wrist thereby putting pressureon the median nerve at the point that the nerve passes through thewrist. The median nerve supplies sensation to the thumb side of thepalm, and to the thumb, index finger, middle finger, and the thumb sideof the ring finger. It also helps with movement to part of the hand.

The area where the nerve enters the hand is called the carpal tunnel.Since the passageway is stiff, any swelling in this area can putpressure on the nerve. This may also be called entrapment of the nerve.Injury to the wrist area can cause swelling of the tissues and carpaltunnel syndrome. This type of injury may be caused by sports such asracquetball and handball, or occur during sewing, typing, driving,assembly-line work, painting, writing, use of tools (especially handtools or tools that vibrate). Firing a semi-automatic or automaticweapon with the wrist cocked at an acute angle, especially upon recoil,may cause such inordinate stress. The current novel design reduces theangle, thereby reducing the stress, fatigue, and potential Carpal tunnelof the hand using the pistol grip of the rifle. This wrist anglereduction is a result of rotating the pistol grip position from itssymmetrical position to the rifle body to a new position asymmetrical tothe line of the rifle body. The term asymmetrical in this context meansthe finger grooves and other hand and finger locating features are notaligned with long axis of the weapon but instead are rotated as shown inFIG. 3. The range of the pistol grip rotation contemplated by thisinvention can be from 3 degrees to 45 degrees, preferably from 15degrees to 35 degrees and most preferably from 20 degrees to 30 degrees.

The term rotated asymmetrically from being aligned to the centerline ofsaid rifle deals with the fact that a standard grip has all the fingergroove features facing in the same direction as the barrel and all theother associated features such as the palm cheek and the thumb restoriented as dictated by the finger groove orientation. Since the indexfinger is in a standard orientation when placed on the trigger of theweapon then to implement the invention the middle finger groove mayoffset a little to the left (for a right handed shooter using the righthand as the trigger hand). The ring finger may be offset a little moreto the left and the pinky finger may be offset the most. The other gripfeatures (palm cheek and thumb rest) may also be offset (rotated) forthe comfort of the shooter. Any implementation may leave the middlefinger groove in the standard location and offset (rotate) the otherfinger grooves to the left. If the user prefers, then the middle fingergroove may also be slightly rotated. Some pistol grips for auto andsemi-auto rifles may include 3 finger grooves that include grooves forthe middle finger, the ring finger and the little finger.

SUMMARY

In accordance with the present invention, an angled pistol grip, for usein a semiautomatic or automatic weapon, reduces the stress on theshooters wrist while firing and allows the shooter to position theweapon, relative to the shooter's body, for accurate aiming.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention is further described in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows two semi-automatic rifles with standard pistol grips.

FIG. 2 shows firing using a standard pistol grip.

FIG. 3 illustrates the improved grip rotated to reduce the user's wristangle.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

FIG. 1 demonstrates the existing pistol grips on semi-automatic rifles.The pistol grips extending down behind the trigger are symmetrical aboutthe line defining the body of the rifle and are not rotated.

FIG. 2 illustrates the normal shooting position using semi-automaticrifle with a pistol grip. The shooter shows the best stance for accuracywith his elbow high and forearm at approximately a 90 degree angle. Inthis position the wrist is in a highly cocked position that may generatehigh stresses while firing leading to possible carpal tunnel syndrome.

FIG. 3 shows a under view of the asymmetrical grip rotatedcounterclockwise from its standard position where the grip features arealigned with the rifle body, when viewed from below, to relieve thewrist stress on a right handed shooter. Left handed shooters would use agrip with features rotated in an opposite direction.

Other Embodiments

In an alternative embodiment the angle of rotation of the pistol gripfrom the body line of the rifle is adjustable rather than fixed. Theshooter can evaluate a number of different rotations to find one mostsuitable for that individual. Once the most suitable rotation isdetermined the user can lock that configuration in. In anotheralternative the user can select a fixed pistol grip matching therotation found most suitable while evaluating different rotations andmount that particular fixed pistol grip on the rifle. Another embodimentis a grip that is rotationally adjustable through a detent or similarmechanism and then locked down when an acceptable rotation is found.

Some rifles may also mount a second pistol grip depending from theforward part of the rifle. This second grip may also have the rotationalcharacteristics of the finger grooves and other grip features of thefirst pistol grip as per the present invention.

Another embodiment may be to make the grip out of a material that isflexible when initially fabricated but may then be made more solidthrough heat or UV light. The user then customizes the configuration ofthe grip angle prior to making the grip fixed to that angle. The usermay also adjust the distance between the finger grooves and even thedepth of the grooves. Once the hand and finger features are set to theuser's requirements those features are made permanent. This technologyis similar to that of custom molded ski boots.

The use of the term rifle does not mean to be exclusive of otherautomatic or semi-automatic weapons that are shorter than thetraditional length associated with the term rifle. For example thepresent invention may be used on the short pistol called the MP5K™, anautomatic weapon from Heckler&Koch.

Therefore, although the invention has been described as setting forthspecific embodiments thereof, the invention is not limited thereto.Changes in the details may be made within the spirit and the scope ofthe invention, said spirit and scope to be construed broadly and not tobe limited except by the character of the claims appended hereto.

1. A pistol grip for an automatic or semi-automatic rifle, with saidpistol grip having features, with at least one of said pistol gripfeatures rotated asymmetrically from alignment to a centerline of saidrifle.
 2. The pistol grip according to claim 1 wherein the said pistongrip features rotated asymmetrically is at least one finger groove. 3.The pistol grip according to claim 1 wherein the said pistol gripfeatures rotated asymmetrically is at least one hand locating feature.4. The pistol grip according to claim 3 wherein the at least one handlocating feature rotated asymmetrically is that of a palm cheek.
 5. Thepistol grip according to claim 3 wherein the at least one hand locatingfeature rotated asymmetrically is that of a thumb rest.
 6. A pistol gripfor an automatic or semi-automatic rifle, with said pistol grip havingfeatures, with at least one of said features rotated asymmetrically atan angle from being aligned to a centerline of said rifle, and with atleast another of said features rotated at a different angle depending onthe feature.
 7. The pistol grip according to claim 6 wherein said pistolgrip features are multiple finger grooves.
 8. The pistol grip accordingto claim 7 wherein one of said multiple finger grooves is a grove for amiddle finger and wherein one of said multiple finger grooves is a grovefor a ring finger.
 9. The pistol grip according to claim 8 wherein thering finger groove is rotated further from the centerline of the riflethan the middle finger groove.
 10. The pistol grip according to claim 7wherein one of said multiple finger grooves is a grove for a little(pinkie) finger.
 11. The pistol grip according to claim 10 wherein thepinkie finger groove is rotated further from the centerline of the riflethan the ring finger groove.